Celtic
FC

Celtic FC History - Introduction

Celtic is one of the most
famous football clubs in the World. It has a rich and varied history that
has brought tremendous success on the pitch. Along with Glasgow Rangers
the club has dominated football in Scotland down though the decades. Founded
by a Sligo man, Marist Brother Walfrid, to help raise funds for his charity,
Celtic went on to dominate football in Europe when the club won the European
Cup in 1967

Celtic FC History

Irish Man Forms Celtic Football Club

Celtic Football Club was
formed on 6 November 1887 by Irish catholic Brother Walfrid. Born in County
Sligo in Ireland Andrew Kerins joined the Marist Brothers Teaching Order
in 1864 and adopted the name of Brother Walfrid. He was sent by the Order
to Scotland and was appalled at the poverty in which the children of East
Glasgow lived. He formed the football club to raise funds for his charity
the Poor Children's Dinner Table.

The choice of the name
Celtic was adopted at the inaugural club meeting to reflect the common
origins of the Irish and the Scots. Originally the club played in white
jerseys with green collars, then green and white stripes, and finally
settled upon the familiar green and white hoops in 1903.

Brother Walfrid

On 28 May 1888 Glasgow
Celtic Football Club played it's first official match against Rangers
in a 5 - 2 victory. It was a friendly match and Neil McCallum scored Celtic's
first ever goal at the first Celtic Park. Celtic were one of the founding
members of the Scottish League in 189091 and have been an ever-present
in the League since then.

Celtic Win Scottish League for First
Time

Celtic won the Scottish
league for the first time in 1893 and went on to retain their title in
the following season. This was not the first silverware won by the club
as Celtic had beaten Queen's Park 5 - 2 in the final of the Scottish FA
Cup at Ibrox Park in 1892.

In 1897 Celtic FC became
a private limited liability company and Willie Maley became the secretary-manager.
Under Maley's guidance Celtic won the Scottish league six times in a row
from 1905 through to 1910. During this run Celtic won the League and Cup
double in 1907 - the first time that this feat had ever been achieved
in the history of Scottish football. Celtic repeated this feat in the
following season. Following a break of four years the Glasgow club went
on another winning streak of four successive League victories from 1914
to 1917 including yet another double in the first season of that run.

Celtic Set Attendance Record

In 1937 Celtic met Aberdeen
in the Scottish FA Cup final at Hampden Park. Either 146,433 or 147,365
(depending on the source) fans watched the match in the ground and regardless
of which figure is right it remains a record attendance at a European
club football match.

Jim McGrory is Appointed as Manager
of Celtic FC

Following the end of the
Second World War, during which Jimmy McStay was at the helm, former player
and captain Jimmy McGrory became manager of Celtic. McGrory was the most
prolific goal scorer in British history with a record of 550 first class
goals. Unfortunately He was not as successful as a football manager. In
almost 20 years he won just a single Scottish League title, in 1954. McGrory
also won the Scottish Cup that season. He won the Cup on one other occasion
plus two Scottish League Cups. The 1957 League Cup final was truly memorable
as Celtic thrashed Rangers 7-1. This is a record score line for any major
British football final. In Celtic's second ever campaign in European competition
McGrory led the club to the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup.
Celtic lost out on a aggregate score of 4-3 to MTK Budapest. Jimmy McGrory
finished up as Celtic manager in 1965 to be replaced by Jock Stein who
would change the fortunes of Glasgow Celtic football club for ever.

Jock Stein Becomes Celtic Manager

Former Celtic footballer
Jock Stein was appointed as the manager of the Glasgow club in March 1964.
This was an inspired appointment as Stein would go on to become the greatest
ever manager in the history of Scottish football.

Stein was an almost instant
success as he led Celtic to success in the Scottish Cup Final in 1965.
A 3-2 win over Dunfermline Athletic brought the Cup to Celtic Park for
the first time in eleven years.

In the next season Jock
Stein steered Celtic to their first League title for the first time in
12 seasons, and just the second title since 1938. Celtic won the title
by just two points ahead of Glasgow Rangers. Once again Celtic were knocked
out of the semi final of the European Cup Winners Cup. This time they
lost out 2-1 on aggregate to Liverpool
FC. The 1965/66 season was very successful but was a pale shadow of
what was to come in the following season.

Celtic Become First British Club to
Win the European Cup

Celtic went on to retain
the League title in the 1966/67 season once again holding off the challenge
of Rangers. The club completed a domestic treble by also winning the League
Cup and Scottish Cup. Amazingly Celtic also added the European Cup to
their silverware haul that season. On 25 May 1967 Celtic became the first
British club to win the European Cup. A Scottish League team, consisting
of eleven players all from within an area of 30 miles surrounding Glasgow,
beat European aristocrats Inter Milan from Italy in the final in Lisbon.

Lisbon Lions Triumph

The Celtic team, that became
known as the Lisbon Lions, came from behind to beat Inter Milan 2-1. After
just seven minutes Jim Craig brought down Cappellini in the box. Allessandro
Mazzola stroked home the penalty to give the Italians an early 1-0 lead.
In the typical Italian fashion of the day Milan shut up shop and got eleven
men behind the ball. They managed to frustrate Celtic for the entire first
half and the early part of the second half until the 63rd minute. Craig
atoned for his earlier error when he provided the assist for Tommy Gemmell
to ram home the equaliser. Celtic continued on the attack and had almost
40 shots, including two that hit the woodwork, on the Milan goal throughout
the match. Just as it appeared that the final, at the Estadio Nacional
Stadium, was heading to extra time Gemmell became provider as he fed Bobby
Murdoch who let fly from distance at the Inter goal. Goalkeeper Giuliano
Sarti was left wrong-footed as Murdoch's shot deflected off Steve Chalmers
in the 86th minute. This late strike was enough to garner the European
Cup for a British team for the first time and, in fact, Celtic were the
first non-Latin team to win the competition.

Jock Stein's Celtic Reach The European
Cup Final Again

Under Jock Stein the cascade
of silverware continued for the next ten years. Celtic won the Scottish
League another eight times which also meant that from 1966 to 1974 the
club had won an astonishing nine consecutive league titles. Stein also
led Celtic to a further six Scottish Cups and four League Cup triumphs.
He steered the Bhoys to a second European Cup final in 1970.

Yet again he led out an
all-Scottish team to take on Dutch team Feyenood at the San Siro in Milan,
Italy. Despite taking a first half lead through Tommy Gemmell Celtic lost
out by the odd goal in three after extra time.

Following a near-fatal
car crash in 1975 and a period when Sean Fallon took over as caretaker
manager, Jock Stein's formula for success began to dissipate to an extent.
Under some pressure from within the club Stein agreed to step down as
manager in favour of of former hoops captain Billy McNeill. Despite an
offer of a position on the Celtic board he decided to try football management
in England as he took up the reins at Leeds United.

Billy McNeill's Reign as Celtic Manager

Having gained managerial
experience at Clyde and Aberdeen, and also having been captain of the
Lisbon Lions, Billy McNeill was seen as a natural successor to Jock Stein.
He brought instant success as Celtic reclaimed the League title in his
first season at the helm. The title was claimed in truly dramatic style
as Celtic beat Rangers 4-2 at Celtic Park in the final match of the season.
In his first five years as the manager of Celtic McNeill won a further
two Scottish League titles, one Scottish Cup, and one League Cup.

Following a hiatus of nine
years of managing in England McNeill returned to Scotland to manage Celtic.
In his second period as manager he won the League once and the Cup twice,
including a doing the double in his first season back in charge. Due to
an unwillingness by the Celtic board to commit funds for transfers a frustrated
McNeill quit as Celtic manager in 1991.

David Hay's Period as Celtic Manager

Sandwiched between Billy
McNeill's two periods as manager of Celtic former hoops defender, David
Hay, assumed control for four years. Hay won the Scottish Cup final in
1985 and this was followed by a slightly fortuitous League title in the
following season. League leaders Hearts lost to Dundee FC on the last
day of the season thus handing the title to Celtic

The Liam Brady & Lou Macari Eras

Following the end of Billy
McNeill's second period as manager former Irish international Liam
Brady became manager of Celtic in June 1991. Brady was the first Celtic
manager not to have played for the club. Despite arriving in something
of a fanfare, and despite his impressive playing career, Brady's period
as Celtic manager was not a success and a particular low point was a 5-1
defeat to Swiss club, Neuchatel Xamax, in the UEFA Cup.

In October 1993 former
Celtic and Manchester United
player Lou Macari replaced Liam Brady as Celtic manager. Macari lasted
just one season and, as with Brady's term, he failed to deliver any silverware
for the demanding Celtic supporters.

Tommy Burns Becomes Celtic FC Manager

Following the departure
of Lou Macari Celtic recruited former player Tommy Burns. His appointment
as Celtic manager was surrounded by some controversy. At the time he was
the player / manager of Kilmarnock and the club refused to release Burns
to Celtic. The Glasgow club was fined by the Scottish Football Association
and Kilmarnock retained Burns' player registration effectively ending
his playing career.

Despite playing a very
attractive style of play Tommy Burns won just a single Scottish Cup in
his three years at the helm at Celtic Park. Tommy Burns was fired along
with the rest of his coaching staff in May 1997.

Celtic Appoint First Ever Foreign Manager

Following the of sacking
of Tommy Burns Celtic recruited the first ever manager from outside the
British football environment. Dutchman Wim Jansen was appointed as Glasgow
Celtic manager in July 1997. Jansen had been in the Feyenoord team that
beat Celtic in the European Cup final in 1970.

Jansen's appointment had
the desired effect as Celtic finally won back the Scottish League title
after ten barren years. Jansen also added the Scottish League Cup in that
1997/98 season. Following ongoing personality difficulties with the club's
general manager Jock Brown, Wim Jansen left Celtic just two days after
securing the League title. Jansen will always be remembered as the manager
who brought legendary striker Henrik Larsson to Celtic Park.

Jozef Venglos, John Barnes & Kenny
Dalglish

Following the departure
of Wim Jansen Celtic once again turned to the continent for their new
manager. In July 1998 Slovakian Jozef Venglos was appointed to the role.
Known as an academic who employed strange training techniques. (In his
autobiography Paul
McGrath recalled his experience of Venglos as manager of Aston Villa
in the early 1990's. "... his training methods were eccentric,
to say the least. No doubt they were underpinned by some bombproof scientific
formula. But they had us wetting ourselves on the training ground.")
Despite an encouraging early 5-1 thrashing of arch rivals Rangers Venglos
lasted just one season without delivering any silverware.

Jozef Venglos was replaced
by the two shortest-serving managers in Celtic's history. Liverpool FC
playing legend John Barnes was appointed in the Summer of 1999 but was
replaced by another Liverpool great, and former Celtic player, Kenny Dalglish
in the following February. Barnes rein had been disastrous and Dalglish,
who held the role of general manager, assumed day to day control of team
affairs. Celtic finished the 1999/2000 season 21 points adrift of League
title winners Rangers however they did beat Aberdeen in the Scottish League
Cup final.

Martin O'Neill Becomes Celtic FC Manager

Former Northern Irish international
Martin O'Neill became the manager of Celtic in May 2000. O'Neill's tenure
got off to a great start as Celtic beat Rangers 6-2 in his first Old Firm
clash of the 2000/01 season. Celtic went on to beat their Glasgow rivals
twice more in the League as the club recorded the second domestic treble
in its' history. In another aspect O'Neill also emulated the great Jock
Stein by reaching a major European final. Celtic met Oporto from Portugal
in the UEFA Cup final in Seville, Spain on 21 May 2003. Despite an outstanding
display by Henrik Larsson, that included two goals, Celtic lost out in
extra time as Brazilian Derlei scored to earn a 3-2 victory for the Portuguese
club.

In his five years as manager
of Celtic Martin O'Neill won a total of three Scottish League titles,
three Scottish Cups and one League Cup. He came within a whisker of winning
a fourth League title in his last season with Celtic. In the last match
of the season with just two minutes of normal time remaining Celtic looked
to be heading for a win that would secure the title. Unbelievably two
goals in the final two minutes from Motherwell's Scott McDonald destroyed
Celtic's championship hopes and handed the SPL title to Rangers. At the
end of that season Martin O'Neill left Celtic to care for his wife who
was very ill at the time.

Gordon Strachan Replaces Martin O'Neill
as Celtic Manager

Former Scottish international
midfield Gordon Strachan succeeded Martin O'Neill as manager of Glasgow
Celtic in May 2005. The start to his managerial career at Celtic couldn't
have gotten off to a worse start. Strachan described the 5-0 crushing
defeat at the hands of the Slovakian champions Artmedia Bratislava, in
the Champions League, as his worst experience in football. Celtic restored
some pride by winning the return match 4-0. The club also went on to record
an SPL record winning margin when Celtic destroyed Dunfermline Athletic
8-1. Strachan experienced another low point as Celtic suffered a 2-1 loss
to First Division Clyde in the Scottish Cup. This match was also notable
as Roy Keane made
his Celtic debut in the tie. Despite some rocky moments Strachan's first
season as Celtic manager was a success as he won a League and League Cup
double.

Having won the League title
Celtic qualified for the group stage of the Champions League in the next
season. Celtic's group included Manchester United, Benfica, and FC Copenhagen.
With three victories at Celtic Park over each of the other group members
Celtic qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League for the first
time. Unfortunately for Strachan and Celtic they met Italian powerhouse,
and eventual winners, AC Milan in the next round. Following a 0-0 draw
at home Celtic lost out to a single goal in extra time at the San Siro
in Milan.

Gordon Strachan went on
to win second and third Scottish League titles in successive years thereby
becoming the third Celtic manager to win three consecutive titles. He
also won two Scottish Cups and one League Cup. Strachan left Celtic just
one day after surrendering the Scottish Premier League title to Rangers
in the next season after letting slip a seven-point lead established by
the end of 2008.

Tony Mowbray Becomes Celtic FC Manager

Englishman Tony Mowbray,
a defender, had spent four years during his playing days at Celtic Park.
He began his coaching career with Hibernian but really made his name in
England with West Bromwich Albion. In 2008 Mowbray guided West Brom to
the Football League Championship title, meaning promotion to the Premier
League and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup. Even though WBA were
relegated in the following season he had piqued the interest of the Celtic
board. In June 2009, following the payment of £2m in compensation
to WBA, Tony Mowbray became the manager of Celtic Unfortunately for Mowbray
and Celtic his record with the club turned out to be even worse than that
of John Barnes. Following a number of poor results, particularly a record
40 defeat by St. Mirren, led to Tony Mowbray being sacked by Celtic
on 25 March 2010.

Neil Lennon Becomes Celtic FC Manager

Following Mowbray's departure
former Celtic player Neil Lennon was appointed as caretaker manager for
the remainder of the 2009/10 season. Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic
on a full time basis on 9 June 2010. In his first competitive game as
full time manager Celtic lost 30 away to S.C. Braga in the Champions
League.

List of All Celtic Managers

The following is a complete
list of all Celtic managers and the major football honours that they won.
There have been 18 Celtic managers, 11 of which have won at least one
major honour. In terms of domestic honours won Willie Maley was the most
successful Celtic manager ever having won 30 major trophies. Next to him
in the order of success is the great Jock Stein who won 24 domestic honours
plus Scotland's only success in the 1967 European Cup. In the first 81
years of the existence of the club there were just four managers. In the
following years there have been 14 managers.